Zack and Miri Make a Porno News

That collective sigh of relief you can probably hear from all sides of the country?

It's coming from Kevin Smith, now that his next movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, has avoided an NC-17 rating.

The director has won an appeal to the Motion Picture Association of Americalower that figure to an R-rating. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaltman said Tuesday the rating was revised after the group's appeals board viewed the movie.

"We didn't set out to make an NC-17 film. That's just commercial suicide," Smith said.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is due out October 31. It, stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as best friends who try to make a homemade porn flick to dig themselves out of debt.

At a press conference for his latest comedy, Pineapple Express, Seth Rogen said his next film might be saddled with the dreaded NC-17 rating.

"I would say it's pretty dirty language-wise," said Rogen of Zack and Miri Make a Porno. "It does not seem that dirty to me. To me, it literally does not even register in my brain anymore."

Here's an example of what you can expect from the movie:

In the movie, two friends find their friendship tested when they decide to make an adult movie. Rogen thinks the sexual suggestions in the flick may freak out the ratings board, even though it appears to be fine with the violence of films such as Hostel.

"I don't know why. To me, it's a mystery that you can show these horrific things, but not some sexual stuff which everyone does," Rogen said.

While the mere concept of Zack and Miri Make a Porno - a comedy about two platonic friends attempting to raise money by making an adult movie - sounds hilarious enough, star Seth Rogan said he wouldn't sign on for the film unless the dialogue was "loose."

In other words, writer/director Kevin Smith - the man behind Dogma and Mallrats - had to agree to let the actors freelance and improvise the lines a bit.

Once Smith agreed, Rogen was on board... and the rest appears to be comedic gold!

Seth Rogen believes in funny, natural dialogue.

As long as the MPAA gives Zack and Miri Make a Porno an R-rating, Rogen told MTV News that audiences will find a new voice from Smith on October 31.

"I've seen the movie, and there's a lot of improvised stuff in it, and it gives it that less-stilted feel. It feels more like a naturalistic movie," Rogen said. "[In some comedies] you can just see the guy behind the keyboard writing it, you feel as though you see the guys reading it and memorizing it, and I don't like that all…If it's a movie that's supposed to be real and take place in the real world, I need to feel like the characters are actually having these conversations.

"[I felt like that] with Juno. I love that movie, but again it feels really written to me; it's really clever how one line leads directly to the next one, but life just isn't like that."

In case the name Zack and Miri Make a Porno was not enough to entice you to the theaters for this comedy, check out the following promo for this Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks feature.

Is it too early to buy tickets?

Zack & Miri Make a Porno.

As USA Today says in a recent article, it sounds like the most dangerous title in movies, but in comedy these days, the riskier the better.

Kevin Smith's film, now shooting in western Pennsylvania, stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as broke friends who embrace their desperation by making their own X-rated tape to pay off their debts. In the process, they uncover romantic feelings for each other.

Smith readily acknowledges that having "porno" in the title could turn off some potential viewers.

"We're just hoping that by the time the movie comes out, if the marketing people do their jobs right, it's a word that people will kind of get over," he says.

Read the full article now.

A slew of actors have been cast in Kevin Smith's upcoming comedy, Zack & Miri Make a Porno.
Craig Robinson, former porn star Traci Lords, Ricky Mabe, Jeff Anderson and Katie Morgan have joined Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks and Jason Mewes in the film with the funny name.

Production is set to begin Wednesday on the project, which centers around two lifelong friends - Zack and Miri - who, after finding themselves deep in debt, enlist their friends to make an adult movie with the goal of earning some quick cash.

Makes sense to us.

We were sad to hear that Rosario Dawson backed out of the future Judd Apatow vehicle, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

"It's going to be a really interesting film. I don't think I'm going to be a part of it. He wrote it for me, but I'm just signing on to do [Eagle Eye] and that's going to be shooting from November to March," the lovely actress said.

Fortunately, Apatow and star Seth Rogen have found a suitable replacement: Elizabeth Banks.

The adorable actress starred alongside Rogen in Knocked Up and was most recently seen as JD's girlfriend in Scrubs.

Seth Rogen has already made on-screen love to Katherine Heigl, getting busy in some of the most awkward, amusing sex scenes in recent history.

Turns out that with those absurd antics and Knocked Up quotes, the rotund and hilarious 25-year-old actor (below) was just getting started.

In Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a new comedy directed by Kevin Smith slated for a 2008 release, Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play Zack and Miri, two childhood friends who agree to make a porno to get out of debt.

The two pals are then forced to re-evaluate their previously platonic relationship, naturally. The Hollywood Reporter first reported Seth Rogen's involvement in the raunchy sex comedy from a director certainly experienced in the genre.

Seth Rogen: Never a dull moment on screen.

"Getting Seth in [Zack and Miri Make a Porno] is like suddenly growing an extra six inches in the crotch, so to speak," the always well-spoken Kevin Smith said. "Castwise, I'm now extremely well-hung."

So well put.